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Appendix

Appendix A1 Study characteristics: Taylor, Frye, Short, & Shearer, 1991 (randomized controlled trial)

Characteristic Description
Study citation Taylor, B. M., Frye, B. J., Short, R., & Shearer, B. (1991). Early Intervention in Reading: Preventing reading failure among low-achieving first grade students. Minneapolis, MN:
University of Minnesota, Center for Urban and Regional Affairs and Office of the Vice President of Academic Affairs.
Participants Twelve first grade teachers from two schools were randomly assigned either to the intervention or to a control group (six teachers were assigned to EIR® and six teachers
were assigned to the comparison group). In each classroom, five or six of the lowest scoring students participated in the study. Students were identified initially by teacher
recommendations based on reading test scores and confirmed through testing by study assistants using knowledge of consonant sounds, reading of sight words on the Dolch
preprimer list, and the Burns-Roe Informal Reading Inventory, an auditory phonemic segmentation and blending test. Thirty-one low-achieving students from six EIR® classes
and 28 students from six comparison classes participated in the study (there were five or six students in each class, but only three low-achieving students in one of the
comparison classrooms). The district reports 20 percent of students receive free or reduced price lunch and 10 percent are minority students, but no specific demographic
information was given about the study participants.
Twenty-nine of the original 31 students in the treatment group remained throughout the study. All of the 28 comparison students remained in the study.1
Setting The study took place in one suburban district in a metropolitan area in the Midwest.
Intervention The program involved pulling aside the lowest-achieving students in each class to work as a group with the teacher. The program was implemented in three-day cycles from
October to April of the school year. On day one, the teacher read a picture book (this part of the intervention occurred with the entire class). The teacher then taught the inter-
vention students to segment words and blend phonemes into words. On days two and three, the intervention students read a story summary with minimal assistance. They
also wrote one sentence a day that was related to the story with the teacher’s help. In addition to the 15–20 minutes that students worked with teachers each day, children
worked individually (for 5 minutes) or in pairs (for 10 minutes) with a trained aide or project assistant. Running records were taken by the teacher or aide weekly to assess
students’ progress. In this study, the project assistants, who were graduate students from a local university, spent time listening to intervention students read individually and
providing teachers with feedback on the program.
Comparison Students in the comparison classes participated in their regular reading instruction, supplemented with additional instruction from teachers and reading specialists. Some
students received 30-minute pull-out sessions, while others were aided by special reading teachers within their own classes.
Primary outcomes For both pre- and posttests, the authors administered a vowel sounds test, a test of segmentation and blending, and the Gates-MacGinitie reading test. Two additional tests,
and measurement the Burns-Roe Informal Reading Inventory and the percent of children reading a 150-word selection at the first grade level, were used in the study, but have not been included
in this review.2 (See Appendix A2.1–2.2 for more detailed descriptions of outcome measures.)
Teacher training Intervention teachers attended an all-day workshop the summer before implementation. Three afternoon meetings were also held to support implementation. Project
assistants (graduate students) observed and assisted (listening to program students read aloud) in intervention classes. These assistants were in program classes about 90
minutes per week. Assistants gave feedback and suggestions for improvement to program teachers.

1. Outcome tests were conducted over two days, thus the total number of students in the analysis samples varies depending on the measure assessed and student absences each day.
2. The administration of the tests involved substantial reading and interaction between students and testers, who served as assistants in the intervention classrooms. The WWC eliminated this test
from consideration in the review because students in the intervention group had a pre-existing relationship with testers, which created unequal testing conditions across the intervention and
comparison groups.

WWC Intervention Report Early Intervention in Reading® May 7, 2007 5


Appendix A2.1 Outcome measures in the alphabetics domain

Outcome measure Description


Phonological awareness
Segmentation and blending An 18-item version of a segmentation (6-items) and blending (6-items) test adapted from Taylor and Pearson (as cited in Taylor, Frye, Short, & Shearer, 1991). At posttest,
children were asked to say each sound in a three- to four-letter word, then blend the sounds together. Twelve of the 18 words were on the pretest, and the other six were new.
Phonics
Vowel sounds A test measuring students’ knowledge of letter sounds for 15 pairs of vowels. The same test was given at pre- and posttest (as cited in Taylor, Frye, Short, & Shearer, 1991).

Appendix A2.2 Outcome measures in the comprehension domain

Outcome measure Description


Gates-MacGinitie A standardized test of reading readiness; form R was given as the pretest and Level A as the posttest (as cited in Taylor, Frye, Short, & Shearer, 1991).
reading test

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Appendix A3.1 Summary of study findings included in the rating for the alphabetics domain1

Authors’ findings from the study

Mean outcome
(standard deviation2) WWC calculations
Sample size Early Intervention Mean difference3 Statistical
Study (classes/ in Reading® Comparison (EIR® – significance5 Improvement
Outcome measure sample students) group group comparison) Effect size4 (at α = 0.05) index6

Taylor, Frye, Short, & Shearer, 1991 (randomized controlled trial)7

Construct: Phonological awareness


Segmentation and blending Grade 1 12/56 14.30 10.41 3.89 0.80 Statistically +29
(4.09) (5.41) significant
Construct: Phonics
Vowel sounds Grade 1 12/56 10.62 6.44 4.18 1.39 Statistically +42
(3.18) (2.72) significant
Average8 for alphabetics domain (Taylor, Frye, Short, & Shearer, 1991) 1.10 Statistically +36
significant

1. This appendix reports findings considered for the effectiveness rating and the average improvement index.
2. The standard deviation across all students in each group shows how dispersed the participants’ outcomes are: a smaller standard deviation on a given measure would indicate that participants had more similar outcomes.
3. Positive differences and effect sizes favor the intervention group; negative differences and effect sizes favor the comparison group.
4. For an explanation of the effect size calculation, see Technical Details of WWC-Conducted Computations.
5. Statistical significance is the probability that the difference between groups is a result of chance rather than a real difference between the groups.
6. The improvement index represents the difference between the percentile rank of the average student in the intervention condition versus the percentile rank of the average student in the comparison condition. The improvement index
can take on values between –50 and +50, with positive numbers denoting results favorable to the intervention group.
7. The level of statistical significance was reported by the study authors or, where necessary, calculated by the WWC to correct for clustering within classrooms or schools and for multiple comparisons. For an explanation about the
clustering correction, see the WWC Tutorial on Mismatch. See Technical Details of WWC-Conducted Computations for the formula the WWC used to calculate statistical significance. In the case of Taylor, Frye, Short, & Shearer (1991),
corrections for clustering and multiple comparisons were needed, so the significance levels may differ from those reported in the original study.
8. The WWC-computed average effect sizes for each study and for the domain across studies are simple averages rounded to two decimal places. The average improvement indices are calculated from the average effect size.

WWC Intervention Report Early Intervention in Reading® May 7, 2007 7


Appendix A3.2 Summary of study findings included in the rating for the comprehension domain1

Authors’ findings from the study

Mean outcome
(standard deviation2) WWC calculations
Sample size Early Intervention Mean difference3 Statistical
Study (classes/ in Reading® Comparison (EIR® – significance5 Improvement
Outcome measure sample students) group group comparison) Effect size4 (at α = 0.05) index6

Taylor, Frye, Short, & Shearer, 1991 (randomized control trial)7

Gates-MacGinitie reading test Grade 1 12/57 20.76 17.14 3.62 0.47 ns +18
(8.03) (6.97)
Average for comprehension domain (Taylor, Frye, Short, & Shearer, 1991) 0.47 ns +18

ns = not statistically significant

1. This appendix reports findings considered for the effectiveness rating and the improvement index.
2. The standard deviation across all students in each group shows how dispersed the participants’ outcomes are: a smaller standard deviation on a given measure would indicate that participants had more similar outcomes.
3. Positive differences and effect sizes favor the intervention group; negative differences and effect sizes favor the comparison group.
4. For an explanation of the effect size calculation, see Technical Details of WWC-Conducted Computations.
5. Statistical significance is the probability that the difference between groups is a result of chance rather than a real difference between the groups.
6. The improvement index represents the difference between the percentile rank of the average student in the intervention condition versus the percentile rank of the average student in the comparison condition. The improvement index
can take on values between –50 and +50, with positive numbers denoting results favorable to the intervention group.
7. The level of statistical significance was reported by the study authors or, where necessary, calculated by the WWC to correct for clustering within classrooms or schools and for multiple comparisons. For an explanation about the
clustering correction, see the WWC Tutorial on Mismatch. See Technical Details of WWC-Conducted Computations for the formulas the WWC used to calculate statistical significance. In the case of Taylor, Frye, Short, & Shearer (1991),
a correction for clustering was needed, so the significance levels may differ from those reported in the original study.

WWC Intervention Report Early Intervention in Reading® May 7, 2007 8


Appendix A4.1 Early Intervention in Reading® rating for the alphabetics domain

The WWC rates an intervention’s effects in a given outcome domain as positive, potentially positive, mixed, no discernible effects, potentially negative, or negative.1
For the outcome domain of alphabetics, the WWC rated Early Intervention in Reading® as having potentially positive effects. It did not meet the criteria for positive
effects because only one study met WWC evidence standards. The remaining ratings (mixed effects, no discernible effects, potentially negative effects, negative
effects) were not considered because Early Intervention in Reading® was assigned the highest applicable rating.

Rating received
Potentially positive effects: Evidence of a positive effect with no overriding contrary evidence.
• Criterion 1: At least one study showing a statistically significant or substantively important positive effect.
Met. The one study showed a statistically significant positive effect and had a strong design.
• Criterion 2: No studies showing a statistically significant or substantively important negative effect and fewer or the same number of studies showing indeterminate
effects than showing statistically significant or substantively important positive effects.
Met. There were no studies showing negative effects.

Other ratings considered


Positive effects: Strong evidence of a positive effect with no overriding contrary evidence.
• Criterion 1: Two or more studies showing statistically significant positive effects, at least one of which met WWC evidence standards for a strong design.
Not met. There was only one study that met WWC standards.
• Criterion 2: No studies showing statistically significant or substantively important negative effects.
Met. There were no studies showing negative effects.

1. For rating purposes, the WWC considers the statistical significance of individual outcomes and the domain-level effect. The WWC also considers the size of the domain-level effect for ratings of
potentially positive or potentially negative effects. See the WWC Intervention Rating Scheme for a complete description.

WWC Intervention Report Early Intervention in Reading® May 7, 2007 9


Appendix A4.2 Early Intervention in Reading® rating for the comprehension domain

The WWC rates an intervention’s effects in a given outcome domain as positive, potentially positive, mixed, no discernible effects, potentially negative, or negative.1
For the outcome domain of comprehension, the WWC rated Early Intervention in Reading® as having potentially positive effects. It did not meet the criteria for posi-
tive effects because only one study met WWC evidence standards. The remaining ratings (mixed effects, no discernible effects, potentially negative effects, negative
effects) were not considered because Early Intervention in Reading® was assigned the highest applicable rating.

Rating received
Potentially positive effects: Evidence of a positive effect with no overriding contrary evidence.
• Criterion 1: At least one study showing a statistically significant or substantively important positive effect.
Met. The one study showed a substantively important positive effect and had a strong design.
• Criterion 2: No studies showing a statistically significant or substantively important negative effect and fewer or the same number of studies showing indeterminate
effects than showing statistically significant or substantively important positive effects.
Met. There were no studies showing negative effects.

Other ratings considered


Positive effects: Strong evidence of a positive effect with no overriding contrary evidence.
• Criterion 1: Two or more studies showing statistically significant positive effects, at least one of which met WWC evidence standards for a strong design.
Not met. There was only one study that met WWC evidence standards.
• Criterion 2: No studies showing statistically significant or substantively important negative effects.
Met. There were no studies showing negative effects.

1. For rating purposes, the WWC considers the statistical significance of individual outcomes and the domain-level effect. The WWC also considers the size of the domain-level effect for ratings of
potentially positive or potentially negative effects. See the WWC Intervention Rating Scheme for a complete description.

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Appendix A5 Extent of evidence by domain

Sample size
Outcome domain Number of studies Schools Students Extent of evidence1
Alphabetics 1 2 56 Small
Fluency 0 0 0 na
Comprehension 1 2 57 Small
General reading achievement 0 0 0 na

na = not applicable/not studied

1. A rating of “moderate to large” requires at least two studies and two schools across studies in one domain and a total sample size across studies of at least 350 students or 14 classrooms.
Otherwise, the rating is “small.”

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